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Visitor Comments: 10

(9)
Shani Pinto Sebag,
July 2, 2014 8:03 PM

Am Israel Chai

We as a people are mourning the loss of three righteous boys ,their names will never be forgotten for they are our children too.
May G-d his all mighty listen to our cries as a people and as a nation and make the world see with their eyes and hear with their ears that our enemies are "terrorists" real "human beasts"
And they are not only the enemies of the Jewish people but of all that is alive.
They send theirs kids to hate and kill! Yadam Bakol ve Hakol Bam!
This act of terror is condemned and please Hashem, Rachem Alenou al Amecha Israel ve Tazilenou mi Yadam. Amen!
Our heartfelt condolences to the Yfrach , Shaar and Frenkel families we pray for your well being and please know that we pray with you in this shocking reality as Eyal, Gilad And Naftali are our children too.
Please Hashem No More.
Shani & Daniel Yaakov Sebag
&
Family
City of St-Laurent,
Canada.

(8)
Anonymous,
June 23, 2014 6:03 AM

On Ha'Shem we Depend on

This is so touching. It is so true--we only depend on Ha'Shem to safely bring our boys back home. Kol Y'israel is uniting and praying for Eyal, Gilad, and Naphtali. In genuine heart-felt prayer we pray: "Ha'Shem, please safely bring our boys back."

May they safely return home!

(7)
jose vitoriano,
June 21, 2014 1:53 PM

am israel

i love this video about bring our back boys .shabbath shalom

(6)
Ahuvah,
June 20, 2014 9:07 AM

If tears can bring back our boys. Mine certainly will. Ha Shem is their protector we continue to pray and cry out to Him. Am Israel Chai

(5)
Anonymous,
June 20, 2014 1:18 AM

Thank you for this utube.

Well presented and touching utube. I am glad you put this together.

(4)
Anonymous,
June 19, 2014 8:58 PM

bring back our boys

thank you for that song, it was so moving, i burst into tears and prayed for them,Please Hashem bring them back safely!

Nathalie,
June 22, 2014 7:15 AM

The same with me

'Music is what feelings sound like' What an excellent composition of words, video but above all Shmueli Schwartz' voice. He sings with his neshama that's why it connected with mine. Couldn't be better. May we hear and share besorot tovot see yeshuot and thank Hashem with a happy song for returning our boys safe and sound.

(3)
leahkatz,
June 19, 2014 5:28 PM

dear aish,what beautiful smiles on their face,thankyou,leahkatz

(2)
leahkatz,
June 19, 2014 5:20 PM

dear aish,we are all davening they should be brought back as soon as possible,with health,mazel,nachas,we are all davening for them if not at the kosel,ten america,thank you,leahkatz

(1)
Bayla Sheva Brenner,
June 19, 2014 1:09 PM

Our One Address - Hashem Yisborach

Your song exquisitely expresses all of our hopes. Thank you for sharing your talent to compose a prayer that connects us all. Hashem, bring back our boys.

My nephew is having his bar mitzvah and I am thinking of a gift. In the old days, the gift of choice was a fountain pen, then a Walkman, and today an iPod. But I want to get him something special. What do you suggest?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Since this event celebrates the young person becoming obligated in the commandments, the most appropriate gift is, naturally, one that gives a deeper understanding of the Jewish heritage and enables one to better perform the mitzvot! (An iPod, s/he can get anytime.)

With that in mind, my favorite gift idea is a tzedakah (charity) box. Every Jew should have a tzedakah box in his home, so he can drop in change on a regular basis. The money can then be given to support a Jewish school or institution -- in your home town or in Israel (every Jews’ “home town”). There are beautiful tzedakah boxes made of wood and silver, and you can see a selection here.

For boys, a really beautiful gift is a pair of tefillin, the black leather boxes which contain parchments of Torah verses, worn on the bicep and the head. Owning a pair of Tefillin (and wearing them!) is an important part of Jewish identity. But since they are expensive (about $400), not every Bar Mitzvah boy has a pair. To make sure you get kosher Tefillin, see here.

In 1944, the Nazis perpetrated the Children's Action in the Kovno Ghetto. That day and the next, German soldiers conducted house-to-house searches to round up all children under age 12 (and adults over 55) -- and sent them to their deaths at Fort IX. Eventually, the Germans blew up every house with grenades and dynamite, on suspicion that Jews might be in hiding in underground bunkers. They then poured gasoline over much of the former ghetto and incinerated it. Of the 37,000 Jews in Kovno before the Holocaust, less than 10 percent survived. One of the survivors was Rabbi Ephraim Oshri, who later published a stirring collection of rabbinical responsa, detailing his life-and-death decisions during the Holocaust. Also on this date, in 1937, American Jews held a massive anti-Nazi rally in New York City's Madison Square Garden.

In a letter to someone who found it difficult to study Torah, the 20th century sage the Chazon Ish wrote:

"Some people find it hard to be diligent in their Torah studies. But the difficulty persists only for a short while - if the person sincerely resolves to submerge himself in his studies. Very quickly the feelings of difficulty will go away and he will find that there is no worldly pleasure that can compare with the pleasure of studying Torah diligently."

Although actions generally have much greater impact than thoughts, thoughts may have a more serious effect in several areas.

The distance that our hands can reach is quite limited. The ears can hear from a much greater distance, and the reach of the eye is much farther yet. Thought, however, is virtually limitless in its reach. We can think of objects millions of light years away, and so we have a much greater selection of improper thoughts than of improper actions.

Thought also lacks the restraints that can deter actions. One may refrain from an improper act for fear of punishment or because of social disapproval, but the privacy of thought places it beyond these restraints.

Furthermore, thoughts create attitudes and mindsets. An improper action creates a certain amount of damage, but an improper mindset can create a multitude of improper actions. Finally, an improper mindset can numb our conscience and render us less sensitive to the effects of our actions. We therefore do not feel the guilt that would otherwise come from doing an improper act.

We may not be able to avoid the occurrence of improper impulses, but we should promptly reject them and not permit them to dwell in our mind.

Today I shall...

make special effort to avoid harboring improper thoughts.

With stories and insights,
Rabbi Twerski's new book Twerski on Machzor makes Rosh Hashanah prayers more meaningful. Click here to order...